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Sonoco's Sustainability Story

End-of-Life

Begin the Story

End-of-Life

We’re revealing a better world.

We're a world leader in recycling and creating renewable resources, and we can help you become more sustainable though our end-of-life packaging solutions and world-class recycling programs.
Palace Stepps, Vice President/General Manager, Paper Products & Fiber Supply
Palace Stepps, Vice President/General Manager, Paper Products & Fiber Supply

  • In one five-year period we received nearly two billion pounds of reels for recycling, saving end users more than $36 million in disposal costs. Even better, recycling all those reels saved more than 300,000 trees.

EcoReel® Recycling Program

Since 1991, Sonoco has been working with utility companies, contractors and distributors to collect old wire and cable reels and spools to be refurbished. The EcoReel® Program is the most comprehensive, cost-effective nailed wood and polyfiber reel recycling program in the industry.
Join the EcoReel Recycling Program
TransGuard® Returnable Dunnage

TransGuard® Returnable Dunnage

Protective Packaging You Can Reuse Again and Again

Strong and durable, TransGuard® returnable dunnage is designed to protect your most sensitive products, parts and components during transit. After your product is delivered, empty TransGuard packaging can be returned and refilled again and again. Every TransGuard package is fully recyclable at the end of its useful life.

In addition to providing superior protection, TransGuard delivers optimal packaging density, maximum truckload curbing and yield per container – saving as much as 50% on freight costs and reducing CO2 emissions.

Learn About TransGuard

TransGuard® is ideal for complex and sensitive components such as decorative trim parts, instrument panels, electronics, circuit boards, displays and more.

Overcoming Under-Recycling

Sonoco Helps City Recycle Paper Containers with Steel Ends

Fewer than 15% of American households have access to material recovery facilities (MRFs) that will accept paperboard containers with metal ends for recycling. In addition, there’s a faulty belief that paperboard cans with metal ends contaminate bales. The lack of visibility and education around recyclability of this packaging format means it has historically been under recycled.

MRF Recycles Cans with Metal Ends in a Single Stream

Magnets capture the paperboard cans and they are baled. They then undergo the same recycling process as steel cans. The non-steel components in the paperboard can are consumed and recovered as energy during the steel recycling process.

Accepting paperboard cans in bales has not been considered contamination by their scrap buyers, and there is energy and reclamation value to recycling through the steel stream. For two decades, the Mecklenburg County facility has been taking advantage of this technology. 

Download the Success Story

Partner with Us

We know that when it comes to fiber, you want a recycling partner that provides:

  • High-quality, responsibly sourced material
  • A reliable, consistent supply to a rapidly expanding market
  • Responsive, nationwide service
  • Assessments of your current recycling practices and processes
  • Custom-built recycling programs and services that save resources and create opportunities

Sonoco Recycling

  • We collect 200,000 tons of curbside recyclables  in 150 cities across the Southeast.

Making a Local Impact

Near our company headquarters, we operate material recovery facilities (MRFs) in several cities. Our MRFs in Columbia, Jacksonville, Raleigh and Wilmington feature education centers designed to show how materials are recycled and share the benefits of recycling with local students and community groups.
Recycling Education

Sustainability Insights

Get Started on Your Solution

We think about the future of packaging and how it impacts our planet. We work every day to make better products.

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